Getting off the blocks | Ole Miss Sports

Amid talk of fundamentals, getting better in all phases and extra practice reps for freshmen, the theme for the open date week at Ole Miss is clearly to become more physical.

I’m not sure physicality can be taught and improved upon in a week’s time, but Ole Miss coach Houston Nutt and his staff must teach it and hope for the best, because it’s clearly lacking on both lines right now.

Though I wouldn’t think it would be the preferred method, an offensive line can more easily adapt to a “finesse” style than a defensive line. That might be what we see from the Ole Miss offense moving forward. Jeff Scott is a speed back, Brandon Bolden can get some yards after contact.

But a defensive line has to be able to get off blocks. That’s something the Rebels aren’t doing right now. It’s showing up big in their run defense numbers, and there are teams coming up on the schedule that will make them pay for it.